Dickens' Masterpiece

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." One of the most influential and know introductory sentences in all of language comes from Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Dickens does it again and creates a masterpiece work in "A Tale of Two Cities." There are several ways in which Dickens lures his audience's attention. One of the things most important about ATOTC, while reading it, is that the intended audience was that of the 1800's. Some of the more subliminal things that may seem corny, are very important.

Recalled To Life
We can start at the beginning of the book. The time is 1775. The story starts off in a carriage ride as Mr. Jarvis Lorry is riding in the badlands of England. Dickens shows the harsh conditions of the land by pointing out the numerous guards for the carriage and the suspicion of the messenger (Jerry Cruncher) who relays word to Lorry. The message to Lorry is "Recalled To Life," the name of Book the First in ATOTC. This message symbolizes the revitalization of Dr. Manette, a Bastille prisoner, who's daughter (Lucie) financial status is decided by Mr. Lorry.

Immediately, Mr. Lorry breaks the news to Lucie. She faints at the word of her father's condition, and is comforted by her faithful nanny Mrs. Pross. The Three decide to go to France to visit Dr. Manette.


*One of the things immediately recognized in Dickens' writing style is his short character list. He doesn't waste time by creating extraneous characters which don't serve purpose. There are sevral main characters, and that is all. Anyone else is either a vague nameless person, or will be revisited.

As the trio reach France, they go to the Defarge's wine shop to see Dr. Manette. Ernest Defarge is the owner of the wine shop in the poor section of Brodeaux. He runs a meek business that really masks his true intentions; he and his wife lead a secret coalition called the Jacquerie. They are revolutionaries and are against the aristocrats. With these characters, Dickens molds a pre 1789 France that is filled with anger and poverty. Poverty is seen when one of the crates of wine falls off of the wagon on the way to the Defarge's. All the village peasants rush to fill their hands with wine. They flock to the area instantly. Dickens says the word hunger 8 times in that paragraph, it is all rising action.

As Lorry and Lucie see her father, he is in a retrogressed state; all he can do is cobble wood. He doesn't remember his name, only 105 North Tower, the name of his cell block. He seems vaguely lost. Ernest Defarge, who used to work for the Doctor of Beauvais (Manette) when he was a young doctor cannot break through with him. The transition of 18 years in solitary confinement is slow and grueling, yet there is a spark of hope. When Manette sees Lucie, a widow to the past is opened. Her golden hair reminds Dr. Manette of his wife and he feels better with Lucie.

* These are two recurring motifs. The golden hair of Lucie, which seems to pull everyone together around her, and Dr. Manette's confusion without Lucie. Lucie is a vital part of the Doctor's health. In order for him to be active, Lucie needs to be near.


A Golden Thread

Five years later, (1780) Dr. Manette has progressed into a solid person. He is full of life and can function actively. His ties with Lucie has revitalized himself. They have nestled safely in a small part of England, yet they journey to London to face a treason trial. They are witnesses to a man, Charles Darnay (the hero), of possible evidence towards his treason against the English government in coercion with America in the war of 1776. Darnay is being attacked by two people Mr. Barsad and Cly, a group of people who owe money to Darnay and wouldn't mind him quartered, the punishment for treason. His lawyers are J.P. Stryver and Sydney Carton. The two are a formidable force, yet Carton appears to be lost and wandering. His thoughts are constantly elsewhere. His soul is lost as his wig stands awry on his head. He is one of the deepest characters that I have ever read, without having to hear the author explain him in total detail.
Carton is a mirror image of Darnay. They both are similar looking, except that Darnay is always tidy and immaculate. Carton is an alcoholic and absent minded. He is used by Mr. Stryver as a "memory." he can remember events and conjure strategies masterfully, yet he wishes not to further his career, rather, just to rot away in his self pity. It is the fact that they both look alike that gets Darnay acquitted and he technically saves the day.


I leave you here to ponder what will come of these people. The French revolution is brewing, and The Jacquerie is rising. What will come of Barsad and Cly. What is with the cly messenger known as Jerry Cruncher. What is Charles Darnay’s relation with the Marquis St. Evermonde? What will happen in 1789 when the Bastille is swarmed. How does Lucy keep all the characters together? Why was Dr. Manette imprisoned? Why?

In my opinion, one of the greatest books ever written.
Read, my friend, and see. I can only give you a taste. You can only quench your thirst.

Cosmofind.com



For those of you who have read it and think it is too simple, I will compare and contrast the characters of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton:


Dickens’ characters in “A Tale of Two Cities” are intricately woven into the story, never left idle and never extraneous. The Characters of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton are similarly portrayed as mirror characters. The minor differences between the two create the friction and suspense in the story.


Charles Darnay comes from a noble family, known as the Evermonde’s. He is kept away from the evil’s of his father and his uncle by his mother, Mrs. D’Aulnais. Before falling in love, and marrying Lucie Manette, he leaves France. He stays away from the corruption of the nobility and takes a perspective on life that his mother taught him. She teaches him to love and care. Gentle and clean. He grows up, without malice to the world or a narrow view on life. As he decides to leave the web of the Marquis (his uncle) in France, he enters Britain and become a respectable tutor. His efforts are ultimately futile due to his family name, Evermonde, and he is sentenced to the Guillotine by a vindictive Madame Defarge, only to be saved by Sydney Carton. “Good could never come of such evil, a happier end was not in nature to so unhappy a beginning…” 1



Sydney Carton is a lost youth who works in a law firm with J.P. Stryver. He has no intentions on changing his status, or putting his intelligence to greater use. Both of his parents died as he was a youth, and he grew up poor. Mr. Stryver, uses him only as a tool of memory. He is in constant disarray and has a drinking problem. His life is a lost cause structured around nothing, until he met Lucy Manette. He also, is in love with Lucie Manette, yet Charles Darnay, the hero, takes her. Towards the end of the story, Carton takes the protagonist role of saving Charles from the Guillotine and to “recall Darnay to life,” due to his promise which he gave Lucie many moons before. “For you [Lucy] and any dear to you, I would do anything… I would embrace any sacrifice for you and for those dear to you…” 2


The two characters first come in contact in Book the Second, Chapter two: Darnay is on trial for treason against the country of Britain. Sydney Carton is aiding J.P. Stryver in defending Darnay. Immediately, Dickens brings out the uncanny resemblance between the two. That is even the reason why Darnay is acquitted!

Although the two look alike, they are different in personality. Carton hangs his wig wryly on his head, and is often negligent to his surroundings and is preoccupied in his thought. Charles Darnay is straightforward and attentive, often very precise and immaculately dressed. When the two clash in Book the Second, Chapter 4, Dickens forms Carton into Darnay’s shadow, or opposite. At diner, Carton thinks and speaks contrary to Darnay. He drinks heavily and Darnay drinks modest. His language is lewd and vulgar, whereas Darnay is polite and proper. “Carton sat opposite to him at the same table, with his separate bottle of port before him, and his fully half-insolent manner upon him. ‘Do you feel, yet that you belong to this terrestrial scheme again, Mr. Darnay?’ ‘ I [Darnay] am frightfully confused regarding time and place; but I am so far mended as to feel that.’”3 Carton retires that night after Darnay pays the bill. Carton trudges to his room, inebriated and remorseful.

Carton’s true talent and intelligence is portrayed in his attempt to save Darnay in Book the Third Chapter 8; a hand of cards. He slyly forces Barsad into owing him a favor. His intelligence is also seen when he eludes the watchful eye of the Defarges wine shop as he acts as an imbecilic alien.
One of the most important transitions for Carton was his last drink at Tellson’s Branch in Paris. He has his last drink before dying. “Syndey Carton filled another glass with brandy, poured it slowly out upon the hearth, and watched it as it dropped. It being all spent….” 4

Carton and Darnay do not clash until late in the book 3 when Carton sacrifices himself for his promise to Lucie. Dickens almost reverses the roles of the characters by the end when Darnay, neglects to write a letter to Carton on his deathbed, and Carton sacrifices his life to save Darnay.

By the end of the novel, the true feelings of Carton are expressed in his actions, as seen in his letter to Lucie written by Darnay. “If you remember…the words that passed between us long ago, you will readily comprehend this when you see it. You do remember them, I know. It is not in your nature to forget them… I am thankful that the time has come, when I can prove them. That I do so is no subject for regret or grief… If it had been otherwise…I should but have had so much the more to answer for. If it had been otherwise.” 5

Carton’s death and Darnay’s resurrection marks the end of the book, but they both die as prosperous people whom both loved Lucie. Carton was not beligrent or afraid of his death; he embraced it. “It is a far far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”6 In the end, Carton was remembered in the Darnay family for generations to come. In the end, both Darnay and Carton were the same.


Foot notes:
1: Book the Third, Chapter 11 (Dusk) page 306 lines 33-34
2: Book the Second, Chapter 13 (The Fellow of No Delicacy) page 138 lines 5-16
3: Book the Second, Chapter 4 (Congratulatory) page 73 lines 16-22
4: Book the Third, Chapter 8 ( A Hand At Cards) page 279 lines 34-36
5: Book the Third, Chapter 13 (Fifty-Two) pages 322-333 lines 5-5
6: Book the Third, Chapter 15 (The Footsteps Die Out Forever) page 345 lines 26-27